Rajni Mala
Ph.D. Student, Macquarie University, Australia.The Effects of Experience and Accountability on the
Information Selection Abilities and
Judgments of Accountants
Accountants encounter both relevant and irrelevant information
when exercising their judgments in various contexts. Prior studies in
psychology and auditing have provided evidence that individual
factors such as experience and accountability are the prominent factors
that can affect the information selection abilities and judgments of
accountants. This study extends prior research on accounting judgment
and decision making by examining the effects of experience and
accountability on the information selection abilities and judgments of
accountants when undertaking the accounting task of providing a
financial disclosure which entails the interpretation and application of
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Unlike prior
studies, this study also examines the interactive effects of experience
and accountability on the information selection abilities and judgments
of accountants. The results provide evidence that both experience and
accountability affects the information selection abilities and judgments
of accountants when applying IFRS to make a financial disclosure. In
particular, results show that experienced and accountable accountants
use only relevant information in their decision making process and
disregard the irrelevant information. Furthermore, this study provides
evidence that experience and accountability interact to influence the
information selection abilities and judgments of accountants. The
findings show that experienced accountable accountants are not
influenced by the irrelevant information and make more accurate
judgments compared to the experienced unaccountable accountants,
less experienced accountable accountants and less experienced
unaccountable accountants. The results of this study will be of
significance to the regulators and preparers of IFRS-based financial
reports.